Page 30 of Just a Bit Guarded

If Scott didn’t know better, he’d think... he’d think that Gadiel had a thing for Will or something.

But that was ridiculous. Will was just Will—boring, stuffy, standoffish. Scott loved Will like a brother, but he wasn’t blind to his flaws. Will simply wasn’t... very interesting. The mere idea of Gadiel being more interested in Will was laughable. Scott was the interesting one; had always been. He was more charming, more personable, more amusing—and hell, a great deal richer. And more importantly, Scott was gay. Will was straight as an arrow.

No, he was definitely imagining things. Gadiel was just angry with Will; that was why he seemed so fixated on him. That was all. But it was becoming increasingly obvious that he needed to get Gadiel truly alone, without Will being there to distract him.

When Gadiel excused himself to the restroom before they were about to dock, Scott took the opportunity to approach his cousin.

“I need you to leave us alone, man,” he hissed.

A strange expression flickered over Will’s face for just the smallest part of a second. “I’m his bodyguard. I can’t allow him out of my sight.”

“Oh please. Who will attack him? He’s just the third son of the sheikh. Or do you think I’m a danger to him?”

“No,” Will said after a moment. “Of course not.”

Scott clapped him on the shoulder. “Great, then. I’m going to walk him home, you stay out of sight, okay? Stop hovering over us and ruining his mood. You’re cockblocking me.”

Something shifted in Will’s expression. “I wasn’t,” he said. “Cockblocking you.”

“Maybe not intentionally, but your little spat keeps distracting him. Just stay away from us.Did you forget what you’re here for?You’re supposed to help me, not make things harder for me.”

After a long moment, Will gave a clipped nod. He disappeared into the night as soon as the yacht docked.

“Where’s Will?” Gadiel said when he returned.

“He’s left,” Scott said, helping him to get off the yacht. “He said he’d give us some privacy. Let me walk you home. Your place isn’t far from here.”

Gadiel looked around, frowning a little. “What do you mean he left? Without even saying anything to me? That doesn’t sound like him.”

Suppressing his annoyance, Scott shrugged with a smile. “He’s probably tired of third-wheeling. Come on, surely you can give the man a night off.”

Gadiel’s lips tightened at the corners. “He can’t just leave without talking to me. I didn’t say he could go.”

For fuck’s sake.

“All right, I talked him into staying out of sight,” Scott admitted. Stepping closer, he touched Gadiel’s cheek. “I wanted to be alone with you. Don’t you want that too?”

“Of course,” Gadiel said faintly.

Scott grinned. “Let’s go, then. It’s a nice night for a walk.”

It was. Dubai’s layout wasn’t really conducive to walking, but Gadiel’s apartment was located in a quieter part of the city and there was a nice promenade along the beach.

They walked in silence.

It felt a little awkward. And strange. Gadiel was far less talkative without Will there.

“I can’t see Willanywhere,” Gadiel said, looking around. “If he’s just staying out of sight, he’s great at it.”

“Oh, Will has always been good at staying out of sight. Even when we were kids. You wouldn’t even know he was at the parties, he was great at blending into the scenery. He’s always been allergic to socializing.”

Gadiel frowned. “There’s nothing wrong with being an introvert. Not everyone likes being the center of attention.”

Scott gave him a sharp look. What was up with jumping to Will’s defense? Wasn’t Gadiel angry with him?

“I didn’t say there was,” he said slowly. “I know he’s an introvert, and it’s fine by me.”

“Right,” Gadiel said with a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I misunderstood you. So, Will has always been this... reserved?”

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